Company in Coldplay KissCam drama hires Gwyneth Paltrow as spokeswoman
Chief executive Andy Byron and human resources executive Kristin Cabot were caught by surprise when Martin asked the cameras to scan the crowd during a concert earlier this month.
Thank you for your interest in Astronomer. pic.twitter.com/WtxEegbAMY
— Astronomer (@astronomerio) July 25, 2025
'Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy,' Martin joked when the couple appeared on screen and quickly tried to hide their faces.
In a short video, the Shakespeare In Love and Ironman star said she had been hired as a 'very temporary' spokeswoman for Astronomer.
'Astronomer has got a lot of questions over the last few days and they wanted me to answer the most common ones,' Paltrow said, smiling and deftly avoiding mention of the KissCam fuss.
'We've been thrilled that so many people have a newfound interest in data workflow automation,' she said.
'We will now be returning to what we do best, delivering game-changing results for our customers.'
When footage from the KissCam first spread online, it was not immediately clear who the couple were.
Soon after, the company identified them, and Byron resigned, followed by Cabot.
The video clip resulted in a steady stream of memes, parody videos and screenshots of their shocked faces filling social media feeds.
Online streams of Coldplay's songs jumped 20% in the days after the video went viral, according to Luminate, an industry data and analytics company.
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Daily Mirror
7 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Gwyneth Paltrow 'hired' as spokesperson for Astronomer after Coldplay scandal
Gwyneth Paltrow has made a surprise appearance as a 'spokesperson' for tech firm Astronomer, after its former CEO and head of HR were embroiled in a scandal at a Coldplay gig Gwyneth Paltrow, the Oscar-winning actress and ex-wife of Coldplay's Chris Martin, made an unexpected appearance on Astronomer's LinkedIn page this week. She delivered a tongue-in-cheek message as the company's self-proclaimed "temporary spokesperson" in the aftermath of a viral workplace scandal involving its former CEO. The video was posted following public scrutiny surrounding the former Astronomer CEO and the Head of HR. The pair resigned after they were caught on the kiss-cam at a Coldplay concert in Boston on July 16. Their awkward reaction caught the attention of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, Paltrow's former husband, who joked on stage that the pair were either "having an affair or just shy". Both of them stepped down from their positions a few days later amidst backlash and allegations that the incident revealed deeper problems within the tech firm. Neither has responded to our request for comment or spoken publicly about the matter. In what seems to be an attempt to inject some humour into the situation, Astronomer shared a video of Paltrow in a mock corporate setting, reports the Mirror US. "Thank you for your interest in Astronomer. Hi, I'm Gwyneth Paltrow," she announces in the video, dressed in a button-down blue shirt. "I've been hired on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300-plus employees at Astronomer. Astronomers have received a lot of questions in the last few days, and they wanted me to answer the most common ones. "Yes! Astronomer is the best place to run Apache Airflow," she responded to a query. "We've been thrilled that so many people have a newfound interest in data workflow automation. As for the other questions we've received. Yes, there is still room available at our Beyond Analytics event in September. "We will now be returning to what we do best, delivering game-changing results for our customers. Thank you for your interest in Astronomer." The tongue-in-cheek video sparked a reaction in the comment section. "Thanks, but I still don't know what Astronomer or TechChoice do," one commenter penned. Another wrote, "And an Astronomer shows how it can see beyond a sky full of stars! Cold! Well played! !". "Clever way to reach the right audience, unexpected but memorable. Though I have to say, the question and answer felt like they were on different airflows entirely. Unless that was the point... to show how things that drift off still find their way back?" a third chimed in.
BBC News
8 hours ago
- BBC News
Astronomer's 'clever' PR move embracing CEO scandal
The US tech firm whose CEO and chief people officer resigned after being caught on camera embracing at a Coldplay concert has released a tongue-in-cheek promotional video featuring Gwyneth Paltrow as a "temporary spokesperson".In the 60-second clip posted on Astronomer's X account, Hollywood star Paltrow - who was married to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin for more than 10 years - says she wants to answer "the most" common questions the company has recently been first of these questions, appearing as captions on screen, reads "OMG! What the actual f", to which Paltrow responds: "Yes, Astronomer is the best place to run Apache Airflow", she ends the answer by claiming the company is "thrilled so may people have a "newfound interest in data workflow automation."When a follow up question asks how the company's social media team is "holding" after the clip went viral, Paltrow says spaces are still available for a forthcoming conference. Paltrow signs off the clip, which has been viewed over 27 million times by thanking viewers for their "interest in Astronomer", saying the company will now be returning "to what it does best." "It's a really clever video," Jordan Greenaway, CEO of PR firm Profile says. "Everyone has heard about this scandal, everyone has seen the video. But if you'd gone down the street and asked someone who the CEO of Astronomer was, they'd say 'the guy in the Coldplay video', but if you then asked 'what does Astronomer actually do or sell, they would probably say 'they're kind of a tech company.'" Greenaway says the video going viral probably won't have too much of a negative impact on Astronomer going forward, as the viral scandal "doesn't strike at the heart of the quality of their product." He says the company's goal was to create brand awareness amongst the mass public so the company isn't just known as the one whose CEO had an affair. "I know there are some PRs whose default it is to lean into humour to bridge the scandal and get over the hump.""In most cases that doesn't work."But this is what Astronomer is attempting to do in this case," he says. "Rather than sidestepping things, they're jumping in with both feet. That's often a good strategy when a crisis is so big and well-known that you cannot easily duck it." Greenaway compares it to the horsemeat scandal of 2013, when horsemeat was discovered in beef products across Europe, and says "it would not have been right to dress that up in humour by posing as a horse, for example, and giving a response."That could lead to your customers saying "this is something that attacked the quality of your product, and you're making light of it." The nature of this scandal gives Astronomer the flexibility to approach their response with a bit more humour because the company sells a data service, Greenaway continues. "They're not making fun of the quality of their product, they're making fun of their CEO, who has now resigned." But Greenaway says while Astronomer can come out of this relatively unscathed, that isn't the case for Andy Byron. "He and his reputation are a different matter," he says. "If Andy Byron had made light of this, that would have been very unfair and very unethical, because he was the one undertaking in the bad behaviour." Byron had been CEO of Astronomer for two years when he and Kristin Cabot were caught on the giant screen at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on 16 July. Greenaway says he would have taken "by and large the same strategy," that Astronomer has had he been involved in a situation like this. "I would have got rid of the CEO sooner. If possible I would have liked to have shown these type of leadership ethics at Astronomer are unacceptable. "But in terms of moving the discussion back to the company, and what it actually does, I don't think this is a bad way to go about it."I don't know if I would have had the courage to do what they are doing, but I hope I would have." Interest in Astronomer, which describes itself as "the best place to run Apache Airflow" - a product not developed by Astronomer - increased hugely since the clip of its former CEO went viral, with some unverified reports suggesting a spike of 15,000% in visits to the company's website. The company was founded in 2018, and provides services for companies that want to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI). Astronomer says it has worked with Apple, Ford and Uber, the Wall Street Journal reports. Pete DeJoy, co-founder and chief product officer has been appointed as the company's interim CEO, and can at least see a positive to all the attention on his company. "The spotlight has been unusual and surreal for our team and, while I would never have wished for it to happen like this, Astronomer is now a household name," he wrote on LinkedIn. The only previous statement the company had made was on X, two days after the Coldplay concert. "Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability," it said, while announcing a formal investigation had been launched. Seeing the moment Byron and Cabot hid from the camera from his position on stage, Coldplay's Chris Martin said: "Either they're having an affair, or they're just very shy."And if you're wondering what kind of PR impact this had on Paltrow's famous ex-husband and his band, Greenaway thinks it's neutral. "I don't think it increases awareness of them... the public at large have one thing in their head, and that's the Kiss Cam video. That drowns out all the other stuff."
Daily Mail
14 hours ago
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Gwyneth Paltrow's biographer sheds light on Goop founder's payday for Astronomer ad
Earlier this week Gwyneth Paltrow appeared on tech company Astronomer's social media pages, acting as its temporary 'spokesperson' after the viral 'affair' saga involving two of its employees. And now, the 52-year-old actress' unauthorized biographer Amy Odell is weighing in on how much the CEO could have earned for the publicity stunt. Amy, whose book Gwyneth: The Biography comes out July 29, took to Instagram on Saturday to speculate on Gwyneth's payout based on what she's pocketed from past partnerships. 'I just wrote a book about Gwyneth Paltrow. I have exclusive information about what she's earned from past endorsement deals,' she said in a video. She noted that the Academy Award winner made a cameo 'at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia for a total of $1.6 million,' and 'attended a launch party for Skims in late 2023 to promote their Swarovski collaboration for $250,000.' has reached out to Gwyneth's reps for comment but did not immediately hear back. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Amy Odell (@instamyodell) Amy also noted, 'Gwyneth had a bigger deal with Swarovski where she would earn $1.25 million in exchange for wearing Swarovski a certain number of times. She also received millions for endorsing other brands, like Copper Fit.' The biographer, who also authored a book about Anna Wintour's life, teased in her Instagram reel caption: 'What do you think Gwyneth earned for this? My guess as her biographer is: a LOT.' She then plugged, 'Get my Gwyneth book at the link in bio.' Astronomer's CEO Andy Byron was caught canoodling with his Head of Human Resources co-worker Kristin Cabot at a Coldplay concert on July 16, causing a social media frenzy due to their embarrassed reaction. At the time, Chris Martin — Gwyneth's ex-husband — called the couple out for either 'having an affair' or being 'very shy.' Both Byron and Cabot quit their jobs as a result of the scandal. The little-known tech company, which makes software to help other businesses' workflow, came into the stratosphere after the Coldplay moment. Paltrow's involvement on Astronomer's LinkedIn page and other platforms served as a hilarious PR-crisis move by the company. The actress, wearing a blue shirt with corporate music playing in the background, said: 'Thank you for your interest in Astronomer. Hi, I'm Gwyneth Paltrow. 'I've been hired on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300 plus employees at Astronomer. 'Astronomer has got a lot of questions in the last few days, and they wanted me to answer the most common ones.' At the time the employees were spotted, Chris Martin - Gwyneth's ex-husband - called the couple out for either 'having an affair' or being 'very shy'; pictured June 6 Kristin reportedly resigned from the company just a few days after Andy stepped down as CEO Gwyneth and Chris Martin were married for over a decade and share two children. After Martin blew up the Astronomer couple's alleged affair, Gwyneth came to the company's rescue; pictured in 2014 The screen shifted to various questions, beginning with 'Q: OMG! What the actual f**k,' before abruptly cutting off just as Paltrow reappears on screen. The actress continued saying: 'Yes! Astronomer is the best place to run Apache Airflow.' She then leaned into the irony of the moment, remarking, 'We've been thrilled to see so many people suddenly interested in data workflow automation.' With a knowing smile, she added, 'As for the other questions we've received…' just before the nearly one-minute clip cuts back to the on-screen questionnaire. 'Q: How is your social media team holding—' the next query began, before the screen panned back to The Talented Mr. Ripley star, who offered another comedic response. 'Yes! There is still space available at our Beyond Analytics event this September! 'And now, we'll return to doing what we do best... delivering game-changing results for our customers. Thank you for your interest in Astronomer.'
